Fans in Disbelief Over What Happened to Taylor Swift During AMAs

While fans were glued to the 2025 American Music Awards on May 26, hoping Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, would make their red carpet debut, the famous couple did not attend.  Over the past several weeks, rumors and conspiracy theories reached a fever pitch that Swift would announce the release of “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” while accepting an award during the AMAs.

The 35-year-old pop star racked up six nominations in 2025: Favorite Touring Artist, Favorite Pop Album, Collaboration of the Year, for “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone, Album of the Year, Favorite Female Pop Artist, and Artist of the Year.

While Favorite Tour Artist at least seemed to be in the bag following her record-shattering “Eras Tour,” the award went to Billie Eilish, who racked up seven AMA wins.  Reminiscent of the 2025 Grammy Awards, Swift somehow went home empty handed on Monday night. However, fans had to search who won most of the awards after the show, as the AMAs only announced a handful of winners during the two-hour ceremony.

The AMAs, however, did present Artist of Year. Swift faced competition in the category from Eilish, Ariana Grande, Chappell Roan, Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen, Post Malone, Sabrina Carpenter, SZA, and Zach Bryan.  While announcing Swift’s name, however, the audience applause seemed muted for viewers watching on TV. For fans watching the show live in Las Vegas, the applause was thunderous.

While it might’ve intentional fade out for other reasons, many fans couldn’t believe it happened at all. One person commented, “thank god she didn’t attend. they dont deserve her.” One fan wrote, “I THOUGHT I WAS GOING INSANE?”  One X user asked, “What could be the reason for doing this?” Another person posted, “They muted the crowd on purpose we want an explanation AMAs.” One Swiftie added, “AMAs I hope you get cancelled.”  Another X user wrote after listening to the audience cheers and what aired on TV, “the difference is insane. they don’t deserve her at all.”